Thursday, August 13, 2009

The Ugly Truth - An Ugly Movie

Saw The Ugly Truth last week, and boy did I hate it. I could name several obvious reasons, poor acting being chief among them, but what I am going to focus on for this post is, probably unsurprisingly, the misogyny.

Katherine Heigl, what the hell were you thinking? We know you can do better than that; we've all seen Knocked Up, and while you may have a problem with that film, IT WAS TRULY YOUR BEST WORK TO DATE.

So, you said it was the "sexism" in Knocked Up that you didn't appreciate, and so it is that point which confuses the hell out of me. If you are so concerned with the negative portrayal of the modern woman, WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE UGLY TRUTH? Did the script deceive you? Were you perhaps smoking a giant doobie every morning of filming?

Was it Gerard? Did you find him too handsome to resist? Three movies ago, I would have agreed, but he was not looking his best for this role, so I really cannot imagine...

Oh! The executive-woman role! Of course. Because there's nothing more flattering than a control-freak ice queen pretending to be something she's not. Which, I get that the point was loving someone for who they are, but for CHRISTS SAKE did you have to make all women look like neurotic cat-ladies who just need a good screw? And I also get that you're sort of a one-trick pony, but it wouldn't kill you to branch out and play an easy-going, fun girl who can go a day or two without shaving her legs.

And Gerard. Shame. On. You. Shame on you for playing such a ridiculous fat-negative asshole, and shame on me for finding the token father-figure relationship with your nephew mildly endearing. Not endearing enough, however, that I feel at all warmly toward this movie.

In fact, the only thing about this movie that gets my approval is Katherine's apartment. What can I say; I'm gay for a gorgeous courtyard complex in central California.

Which [how's this for a segue] brings me to the fact that there was absolutely zero homosexuality in this film. At all. Not even a cliche make-up artist. In fact, we were SO SURE that her perfect man was going to actually be gay, that we were shocked when he turned out to be, in fact, straight. Improbably handsome, successful, and romantic, but straight.

I'm still suspicious.

So, yes, I'm a little late with this review, and the box-office damage has probably been done, and maybe I'm beating a dead horse, but if you haven't seen it yet and were considering it, do yourself a favor and see Harry Potter instead.